The FBI and police are searching and digging for bodies thought to be connected to an ongoing investigation into the Gambino crime family in Goshen, N.Y., multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday afternoon.
The search — 65 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan — appears to be linked to the arrests last week of 10 people accused of strong-arming their way into New York City garbage hauling and demolition businesses.
The indictment unsealed last week in federal court alleged that the 10 people used violent tactics, including intimidation with bat, to dominate the industries.
The group faces a 16-count indictment including allegations of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, witness retaliation and union-related crimes, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.
The group included Joseph Lanni, also known as “Joe Brooklyn” or “Mommino,” an alleged Gambino captain, as well as a number of other crime family members and associates who are accused of setting each other up with no-show jobs that brought benefits such as pay and union benefits.
Four of those named in the suit were accused of wielding baseball bats as an intimidation tactic to get into the business, prosecutors said.
Others also allegedly “coordinated a violent hammer assault on the dispatcher” of a demolition company that left the victim “bleeding and seriously injured,” according to the government.